Bearing his son's jersey number, the van is painted bright orange with a white stripe trimmed in purple. Purple paw prints adorn its front doors. The plush interior, which includes a leather couch and a 47-inch flat screen TV, also features an abundance of orange and purple.

Shatley paid $1,500 for the old hotel shuttle van after his son enrolled at Clemson University. Tyler Shatley is now a redshirt junior on the Tigers' football team.

The van had bad brakes and holes in the floor when Neil Shatley bought it in Hendersonville, N.C.

"You could see the asphalt going down the road," said Shatley, who lives near Hickory, N.C.

The van was parked Saturday in the shadows of Death Valley, which is where Clemson's annual spring football game took place.

Shatley and a group of his friends were relaxing near the van before the game started. He was planning to fire up the grill after the contest ended to provide a meal for his son, some of his teammates and their families.

When his son's gridiron career at Clemson ends in a couple of seasons, Shatley intends to sell the van.

"I don't think it will be hard to fine someone who wants it," he said.

She said the spring game is an ideal opportunity to hone tailgating skills before the Tigers' season gets under way this fall.

As game time approached, the conversation turned to the outlook for the upcoming season, which begins with a Sept. 1 matchup against Auburn University at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The Tigers will open their home schedule Sept. 8 with a game against Ball State University.

"I want to beat South Carolina this year," Layton said.

Her friend Rick Cantrell, who also lives in Clemson, said he is "optimistic that we can win the ACC championship again."

Another member of Layton's group, Pickens resident Phil Greer, was hesitant to make any bold predictions.